Tag Archives: Thrash Metal

Over the years, thrash metal has had quite a mixed bag of a journey, sometimes mostly deviating from the core of thrash metal itself to a more mass appealing sound even if hovering around in the metal boundaries. Some bands have changed the sound “to break the monotony” or in the name of “experimentation” so much that thrash metal kind of gets a bad rep once in a while especially these days. While this may excite some fans to the new sound approach, it may also lead the old school thrash lovers to much dismay, to an extent where some fans have questioned the genre’s long term existence. But as they as say “the grass is greener on the other side”, likewise there are a plethora of bands that don’t really compromise on their thrash sound. As thrash as it can be, they know how to deliver it. They couldn’t care less how mainstream the band next door allures itself or your fans into. All they know is to deliver thrash ever so gritty, fueled with anger and velocity. Such bands make sure you get what you want every time they deliver a single or one hell of a juggernaut of an album. Continue reading →

Big news coming out from cross over thrash giants, MUNICIPAL WASTE. Hailing all the way from Richmond, Virginia, USA, they are undoubtedly the fathers of crossover thrash metal, they quickly rose to fame after their debut album and now they’re one of the major cards out there. Thrash and punk comrades the wait is over and they have finally revealed their upcoming album since their 2012 chart buster album, ‘The Fatal Feast‘ that debuted #1 on the Billboard New Artists chart. ‘Slime and Punishment‘, their sixth feather on their thrash arsenal is slated to be released on the 23rd of June, this year out via Nuclear Blast Records.

Texas shredders Of The Sun have finally released their long awaited sophomore album ‘Before A Human Path’. Their first release ‘A.M. Radio’ came out back in 2009 so long time fans have been left waiting for many years for this record. ‘Before A Human Path’ was self released by the band last Friday on April 14th. Describing themselves as “Southern Progressive Metal”, Of The Sun brings a creative new sound by being very experimental in the progressive and thrash genres while maintaining an extremely heavy groove in each track. The band has played with the likes of Intronaut, Devin Townsend, and Gorguts so you know they are serious. This 5 track album contains no filler and gets straight to the point of grabbing your attention. You can buy the record on Bandcamp or stream it below. See what the band had to say about the record below. Step into the world of Of The Sun now.

“With Before a Human Path, we pulled from personal extremes to convey a more colorful and varied storyline within the span of each song. Ultimately shunning conventional songwriting formula, we really dug in to unearth something we felt isn’t currently being done. We’re beyond excited to share it with you!.”

With only 5 tracks on ‘Before A Human Path’, the trio wastes no time diving into superb craftsmanship and songwriting with “The Tightrope Mile”. Several time changes are applied and trade offs between clean vocals and screams are transitioned flawlessly. The song will at times will be peaceful as if you are sitting on a beach before once again shooting you back into the slamming, tortured sounding verses in purgatory. “Nebulamorphous” begins with a beautifully composed shredding guitar intro from Patrick Duvall that could paint a song on its own. Of The Sun continues their large experimentation on the record here with several guitar effects and fervent drumming from Johnny Reed. David Duvall shows out with an equally impressive bass solo and keeps it flowing with the rest of the song. The groove that they bring while still being heavy as all can be is incredible and hard to find in metal. “Cantos” presents yet another side of the band with more clean vocals and creepy guitar melodies to give the listener another perspective of the band and how proficient they are at creating original material. The fourth track “A Soliloquy” is a rather angst-filled song with complicated rhythms. The song has several layers, constantly evolving and becoming heavier as it continues. I’m not usually a fan of breakdowns but Of The Sun makes it work here with the guitar and bass battling each other to produce an enormous sound. ‘Before A Human Path’ draws to a thunderous close with “The Limbless God”. This song holds massive weight on the record with the fierce riffage and impassioned screams from Duvall. Reed is unrelenting on the bass drum while David Duvall continues to grind out robust bass lines as we exit the world of Of The Sun. In just 5 tracks, this trio has proved they are here to stay in the metal universe and will wreck havoc at their shows. Be sure to check out the album below and to follow Of The Sun on Facebook.

This week in metal, highly praised thrash band Warbringer released their fifth full length album, ‘Woe to the Vanquished’. This was the quintet’s first release not on Century Media Records, instead they partnered with Napalm Records. This record debuts two new members (Jessie Sanchez on bass and Chase Becker on guitar) and it is the first Warbringer album without founding member John Laux. The 8 tracks leave no room for filler and kick your ass throughout the duration. You can buy ‘Woe to the Vanquished’ here. Continue reading →

Melodeath/Metalcore band Darkest Hour has made a return to form with their new release titled ‘Godless Prophets and the Migrant Flora’. The band’s ninth studio album drops on March 10th via Southern Lord Records. It was recorded in Salem, MA at Godcity Studio with producer/engineer Kurt Ballou (guitarist of Converge) and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music. The cover art by created by Shaun Beaudry. This release returns all band members from the previous self-titled record released via Sumerian Records in 2014. The Washington D.C. quintet have put together a killer release that will appeal to the old school fans that loved the early albums. ‘Godless Prophets and the Migrant Flora’ is an absolutely relentless, marvelous clash of uncompromising riffs and utter domination on the vocals. The band is currently on tour with Ringworm, Rivers of Nihil, Rotten Sound, and Tombs, dates can be viewed below. You can pre-order the upcoming album here. Continue reading →

Last week on Talk Toomey, our friend Josh Toomey had a chance to interview Battlecross guitarist Hiran Deraniyagala. Josh and Hiran discussed what it was like to be out on the road with Phil Anselmo of Superjoint, including a running joke of creating a A Flock of Seagulls cover band. They also talk about Slayer’s ‘Seasons in the Abyss’, GWAR, who they might cover next, and the future plans of Battlecross. You can stream the full interview below. It begins around the 25 minute mark. Continue reading →

Final Drive is a St. Louis based thrash metal band. Their new album was released on February 3rd 2017 and was produced by Charlie Bellmore (Jasta, Kingdom of Sorrow) mixed by Nicky Bellmore (Dexter’s Lab Studio, Toxic Holocaust) and mastered by Zeuss (Rob Zombie, Hatebreed). ‘Dig Deeper’ is the follow up to the bands 2011 release ‘Lifes Work’ (also a great record). Now that the formalities are out of the way, let’s get this review started! Continue reading →

Last night on the final show of the “Caught Up In The Gears” tour in Pensacola, FL at Vinyl Music Hall, metal fans were treated to something very special. For the final song of Michigan thrash metal band Battlecross, frontman of Superjoint Phil Anselmo joined them for a shredding rendition of his own song from Pantera, “Fucking Hostile”. Video can be viewed below courtesy of Horns Up Video Productions. Make sure to follow the bands from the tour on Facebook. Continue reading →